


it's cold outside

by budapestagain



Series: Throbb Fanfic Tropes [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Teenagers, stark kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 01:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/budapestagain/pseuds/budapestagain
Summary: Trope Bingo: Huddling for WarmthThe Stark kids get lost in the wolfswood and have to stay warm for the night.





	it's cold outside

Theon would blame Jon - he wanted to blame Jon - but for once, it wasn’t the bastard’s fault.

  He blamed him anyway but Jon had snapped at him and Sansa had started crying and Arya had stuck up for Jon, as usual, and Robb had been the neutral ground, standing by Theon but agreeing with Jon. So they were back to where they’d started.

 

   Stood in a clearing in the wolfswood, miles away from Winterfell, with two horses and three lemon cakes left.  _ So much for a fun picnic _ , Theon thought miserably, as he watched the sky darken. Lord and Lady Stark had gone to a nearby castle for the day, visiting some pregnant lady, and Maester Luwin had given the children a day off. Bran was too young to come with so he’d stayed with Old Nan at Winterfell.

 

  Theon was starting to wish he’d left the girls at home, too. They’d settled down for a picnic when Theon had gotten into an argument with Jon and they’d wrestled on the ground and Arya had rushed to Jon’s defence and knocked the rope keeping the horses tied to the tree. Sansa had cried out when Robb had dived in to pull Arya back and the horses had spooked and ran away. Sansa’s pony, Arya’s pony, and Theon’s horse.

 

   So it was Theon’s fault for starting the argument with Jon, and Theon’s fault for not tying the horses up tight enough, and they couldn’t blame the girls so the blame apparently lay purely on Theon’s shoulders. Which Jon had said loudly and clearly multiple times since the incident had happened.

 

     “I’m hungry,” Sansa said quietly and Theon glanced over the poorly made fire to find her pale and shivering. Jon rummaged around in his pack and produced the three remaining lemon cakes. “One for you and one for Arya,” he said, handing them out. Theon, Robb and Jon stared miserably at the last cake. “We’ll save this one for the morning,” Jon decided. Theon wanted to complain - he was  _ hungry  _ \- but the look on Sansa’s face, and the ravenous way Arya was eating her cake, was enough to make him press his lips together and shut up.

 

    They sat for a little while, quiet to save energy, then Robb clapped his hands together.

 

     “I think it’s time for bed,” he said. “You two can have my cloak.” When the girls were lying on the ground, cuddling up into each other, Robb unlaced his cloak and draped it over them, tucking them in as best as he could. “Us, too,” he added. 

 

    “Why don’t I climb a tree?” Jon suggested. “I could try and find Winterfell. We should try to set off in a few hours, to get home quicker.”

 

   “You’d fall and break your neck.” Robb shook his head. “No, we’ll let them sleep until morning then we’ll look for home. Theon?”

 

   And it was the fact that Robb even cared about his opinion that made Theon feel more at home in this little copse of trees, cold and shivering, than in Winterfell. Robb cared in Winterfell, but that was with Catelyn Stark peering over their shoulders. Robb couldn’t be more than Theon’s companion at Winterfell, but here...here they were anonymous. They weren’t the heir to Winterfell and the former Prince of Pyke. Here, they were Theon and Robb.  _ And Jon _ , Theon thought, glancing to the side to find Jon checking on the girls.

 

     “That sounds like a plan,” Theon said and Robb smiled. “You’re cold,” he said when he saw Robb wince at the late night breeze.

 

  “I’m fine.” 

 

   “No, you’re not.” Theon stood and rubbed his hands on Robb’s arms. “Come here,” he said, surprised at the softness in his voice. He’d meant to sound gruff, reluctant even, but as usual, he felt like he’d given his true feelings away. Robb looked at him - and Robb was growing, wasn’t he? He was thirteen, almost a man. He had the shadow of a beard and his voice had gotten deeper and when had he become taller than Theon? “Do you want my cloak?”

 

   “Then you’ll be cold.” Robb huffed. “We’ll just share it.”

 

    It was easier said than done. Jon curled under his own cloak for warmth, close to the girls but further from the fire -  _ self sacrificing bastard _ \- so that Theon and Robb could lie down in the only piece of flat ground in the clearing. If Theon had been lying with a girl, he would have found it easy to reach over and pull her close and use the chill in the air as an easy excuse to hold her to him. But this was  _ Robb _ . He couldn’t exactly cuddle with him, like the girls were holding each other. They weren’t truly brothers, and even if they were, they were far too old for-

 

   Robb rolled over and wrapped an arm around Theon’s waist, hand resting on his stomach. “Is this okay?” Robb whispered in Theon’s ear. He was far too close, far too warm. It was too much. 

 

   “Yes.” Theon cleared his throat. “Yes, it’s fine.”

 

    Robb nuzzled closer into him and Theon let himself relax. It wasn’t like anyone was around to see them. Arya and Sansa were too young to understand. Jon wouldn’t tell anyone, not if Robb asked him not to. In the wolfswood, there were no lords or ladies or maesters or knights. There was no-one but the Stark children, and around them, Theon felt safe.

 

  “Goodnight, Theon.”

 

    “Goodnight, Robb.” 

  
  
  


_ (Jon scaled a tree in the morning and woke them all up when he found Winterfell, South of where they were. Arya giggled at Robb and Theon’s position and Jon had a rare smile on his face. Theon flushed and halved the lemon cake for the girls. He shared a horse with Robb, Jon shared with the girls, and they arrived in Winterfell at sunset. Ned and Catelyn hugged them all, even Theon, even Jon. That night Robb sneaked into Theon’s room and Theon welcomed his warm touch with open arms). _

 


End file.
